UMD Recognized Nationally in Sierra Club Sustainability Rankings

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The University of Maryland improved its overall nationwide sustainability ranking in the recently released Sierra Magazine Cool Schools listing. The university finished No. 33 overall on the list, up from No. 44 in last year’s rankings, and No. 2 out of the Big Ten Conference.

“We are once again honored to be recognized by such an outstanding organization like the Sierra Club for our ongoing campus wide sustainability efforts,” said Scott Lupin, director, Office of Sustainability. “All Terps should be proud of this achievement as we continue to make progress in our Climate Action Plan goals.”

The Sierra rankings included more than 200 colleges and universities who supplied sustainability data and metrics for reporting. Areas of high performance for UMD included the categories of waste reduction, food, transportation, innovation, and academics. The university also improved in the energy category thanks to ongoing efforts implemented through the President’s Energy Initiatives.

The University of Maryland continues to take pride in the campus-wide engagement of staff, students and faculty in developing a culture of sustainability. The upcoming Sustainability Progress Report set for release this October, will highlight an array of achievements made towards achieving the campus Climate Action Plan goal of carbon neutrality in 2050.